{"id":860130,"date":"2026-05-11T17:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T15:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=860130"},"modified":"2026-05-11T17:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T15:00:18","slug":"end-of-an-era-for-158-year-old-diamond-mine-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/860130\/end-of-an-era-for-158-year-old-diamond-mine-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"End of an era for 158-year-old diamond mine in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The joint provisional liquidators of Ekapa Minerals and Ekapa Resources have begun a formal process to sell the Ekapa Diamond Mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are reaching out to both domestic and international investors to maintain the operation as a viable business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ekapa Diamond Mine, located in Kimberley, is a fully permitted asset that includes both surface and underground mining operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It encompasses approximately 140 million tonnes of tailings mineral resources, and a processing plant with a capacity of 9.6 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three kimberlite pipes, Du Toits Pan, Bultfontein, and Wesselton, which are part of the “Famous Five” cluster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mine faced a serious blow after a shaft collapse in February led to the death of five miners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mine, which was already facing financial challenges before the collapse, then entered liquidation proceedings, with around 1,000 jobs possibly affected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the repairs to the affected shaft being estimated to take 10 to 18 months and requiring a significant capital investment, there are hopes that the business might be saved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The auctioneers said the plant and surface infrastructure are well maintained, and the Bultfontein and Wesselton shafts could be brought back into operation relatively quickly if market conditions improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sale will take place through a jointly mandated auction process, led by Park Village Auctions and WH Auctioneers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prospective investors will have the opportunity to acquire the core assets and mining rights, potentially resuming operations within a defined 90-day window or repositioning the asset as part of a longer-term strategic plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The joint provisional liquidators emphasise that preserving the mine is a central objective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Pollock, representing the joint provisional liquidators, said that from their first on-site engagement, they agreed that every effort should be made to determine whether the mine can be saved, in part or in whole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollock said that this remains a priority outcome that would benefit creditors, employees, and the broader Kimberley community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the joint provisional liquidators also acknowledged that the process presents significant challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are under no illusion as to the difficulty of securing a suitable buyer, given the current pressures in the global diamond market,” the liquidators said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“[This includes] the growing prevalence of synthetic diamonds in industrial applications, together with the substantial capital required to restore operations,” they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That said, we believe there may be investors pursuing jewellery-grade gem opportunities who recognise the potential of this asset as a platform for recommissioning, optimisation or strategic repositioning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pressure from the synthetic diamond industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, the global diamond mining industry has faced significant challenges, largely due to the growing acceptance of synthetic diamonds, particularly in industrial and commercial applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prices for smaller industrial diamonds have plummeted by as much as 70% compared to levels before 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This decline has led to the closure or reduction of several diamond mining operations in Canada, South America, and Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, the Ekapa mine is under a structured care and maintenance program to preserve its asset value, with approximately 115 employees remaining on site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This program includes extensive security measures along a 47 km perimeter, as well as continuous water pumping to protect the underground infrastructure and prevent shaft flooding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our objective is to preserve value, stabilise the operation and avoid full closure, which would have severe social and environmental consequences,” said the joint provisional liquidators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining these activities incurs a cost of about R10 million per month, while no revenue is currently being generated from mining operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, measures have been implemented to reduce expenses, including limiting energy consumption to essential maintenance services only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help fund ongoing maintenance, the joint provisional liquidators are also working on selling selected non-core surface assets that will not affect the overall viability of the mine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We remain focused on engaging constructively with the relevant unions and government stakeholders, where appropriate, to identify a credible investor capable of unlocking the potential of this asset under the appropriate conditions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This strategy aims to provide a limited financial runway while efforts to secure a suitable buyer continue. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The joint provisional liquidators of Ekapa Minerals and Ekapa Resources (“Ekapa”), which are currently in provisional liquidation, have begun a formal process to sell the Ekapa Diamond Mine. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":860132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[24881,25389,25390],"class_list":["post-860130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-ekapa","tag-ekapa-minerals","tag-ekapa-resources"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860130"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":860140,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860130\/revisions\/860140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}